The Lunar Festival has started and it's a simple, yet time consuming holiday. It starts in 2014 on February 16th to March 2nd. It's a celebration of the defeat of the Burning Legion during the War of the Ancients, but is more correctly aligned to the real world Chinese New Year. There are fireworks, achievements, and silly clothes to get and a lot of walking to do it. Let's get started.

In 2015, Elune's Lantern and the Everlasting Fireworks are now a toy and on the PTR there is upgrade coins for heirlooms, if 6.1 were to hit befre the end of Lunar Festival. Elders were not added to Draenor.

In 2013, there were few changes, other than the fact you can get the opposite faction's pets now easily since pets are account wide.

In 2012 we have two new pets, Lantern pets, and a new achievement: Elders of Cataclysm.

In 2011 there are no real major changes to this holiday. Deathwing did change the landscape somewhat, but it should be noted that the Elders have yet to move very far from where they've been all along (which is usually near flightpoints or somewhat close to them). This holiday is now much easier thanks to flight. Simply fly around the world to each elder and you should have no problem doing all of the achievements.

There are a few things you can do that aren't running around the entire world trying to find each elder and I highly recommend you start with them first.

Getting to Moonglade

Each major city has a set of quests that you can do. Find the area where the Lunar Festival is going on and pick up the quest "Lunar Fireworks." Many of the NPCs in each city will give you a breadcrumb quest to go there. Complete the quest and you'll get a Lunar Festival Invitation that will allow you to teleport to Moonglade, saving you a ton of time getting there.

Activities

There are two main activities during this event. The first is the raid boss Omen who completes an achievement and gives you an item that creates beams of light for when the event is over and the finding of all 75 elders. Each elder gives a Coin of Ancestry which can be spent in Nighthaven for some cool festive items.

Achievements

There are 15 achievements worth 150 achievement points and a meta, that requires all of the following achievements, that grants an additional 30 achievement points and the title "Elder."

To Honor One's Elder: Complete all of the Lunar Festival achievements below.

X Coin of Ancestry (X= A, 5, 10, 25, 50): There are five Coins of Ancestry achievements. You get your first with your first Coin of Ancestry, the next at 5, the next at 10, the next at 25, and the final one at 50. This achievement will be completed automatically if you visit at least 50 elders for the elder achievements.

Frenzied Firecracker: Shoot off 10 Festival Firecrackers in 30 seconds or less. Again, buy 10 firecrackers (from vendors in every major city or in Nighthaven) and use 'em within 30 seconds. Hotkey them, press the button, click the ground. Repeat.

Elune's Blessing: See our Omen Guide below, but basically you need to pick up the quest "Elune's Blessing" and finish it by standing in the beam of light over Omen after he has been defeated.

Elders of Eastern Kingdoms, Kalimdor, Northrend, Dungeons, Horde, Alliance: All of these are done by visiting the various elders. See our elders guide below.

Omen

Omen is a remnant of the War of the Ancients, blessed by Elune to help people, but then corrupted by the Burning Legion. He began turning on the people he helped and soon was defeated by a group of heroes outside of Nighthaven. He is however immortal, blessed by Elune herself, and returns now and then to harass random people and cause lots of trouble.

There is a quest, called "Elune's Blessing," that you will need for the achievement. It's offered by the Coins of Ancestry Vendor on the wooden overlook in Moonglade. Once you have the quest make your way down to the southeastern part of the zone and use Cluster Rockets on the rocket launchers until Omen spawns. He is a raid boss with about 5 million HP, but can be duo'd or even solo'd by some players. Don't expect to do that on a PvP server, though.

The key to the fight is to zerg the boss down. Omen uses Starfall, a ground targeted AoE, but it's rather weak and easily avoided. He has a frontal cleave that gets anyone trying to smash his face, but again it's not that bad. You can use Elune's Candle on him to make him not cast Starfall, but that's completely unnecessary if people are smart about not standing in it. A decently geared tank with a dedicated healer can easily handle the boss while everyone else just plinks at him with their attacks.

When he is dead you'll find a glowing beam of light over his corpse. Stand in it and the quest will be complete.

If you do Omen late, as in not within the first few days, there will probably be no one around to help kill him. There is a good way to solo him if you're persistent and have some friends. You can kite him up to Nighthaven where the guards and other players will help kill him, but he can also kill you on the way there. Remember he only needs to die in order to get Elune's Blessing.

Additionally, if you're on a PvP server, be prepared to be ganked while on Omen, while near Omen, and anywhere outside of the Nighthaven city limits. There is a graveyard right next to Omen so there shouldn't be a problem.

Elders

Elders sparkle with Elune's Blessing covering them. Speak with them and they'll give you a Coin of Ancestry and in the mail at a later time you'll receive a red envelope with either an item to make a sparkly beam of light or some fireworks.

Elders also give a ton of reputation (75 for each major city) when the quest is done however they do give any experience. Finding the various elders is not difficult as they're located near flight masters in each zone (or very close to a flight master). You can find locations of where they are at below.

Cataclysm

The Elders of Cataclysm is now part of the meta achievement, which means its time to head out into the Cataclysm and start hunting some Elders down.

Darkfeather (51,33 Twilight Highlands): Located in Thundermar.

Firebeard (50,70 Twilight Highlands): Located in the Dunwald Ruins, directly opposite of Thundermar.

Deepforge (27,69 Deepholm): Located in the south west part of the map in Stonehearth.

Stonebrand (49,54 Deepholm): He's located in the Temple of Earth.

Windsong (26,62 Mount Hyjal): Easy to get to, just fly to the Sanctuary of Malorne.

Evershade (62,22 Mount Hyjal): Located at Nordrassil.

Moonlance (57,86 Vashj'ir): The very south east part of the Shimmering Expanse in the Biel'aran Ridge.

Sekhemi (32,63 Uldum): In the Ruins of Ammon, in the center west part of the map.

Menkhaf (65,18 Uldum): In Khartut's Tomb, in the north east part of the zone.

Capital Cities

The opposite cities are best done when few players are on in order to avoid players defending their capital cities. Remember, when invading enemy cities it is best to do the neighboring Elders as well since you'll find yourself hearthing to exit many of the cities.

Horde Cities

Darkhorn (Orgrimmar) [41,33]: Located in the Valley of Wisdom, outside of Thrall's hut, Darkhorn is one of the most difficult Elders to get for the Alliance. Horde can just simply walk to Thrall's hut and visit him, but the Alliance must enter through the western entrance to Orgrimmar and speed past the Valley of the Spirits, north through the passageway, and finally land at The Valley of Wisdom. Quickly try to click the elder and speak with them, then die. You can either try to find a safe spot to hearth (hard, there are stealthers on the roofs of most buildings and Horde everywhere) or run as far as you can get back out, die, and repeat until you're free of the strong defenses of Orgrimmar.

Darkcore (Undercity) [67,38]: Stupidly ease, just visit the Throne Room. There shouldn't be anything to worry about except for the Horde sitting in the courtyard.

Wheathoof (Thunder Bluff) [72,23]: Take the elevator up and run across the eastern bridge. You can skirt around the edges or go up the tower for the Flight Master, either way you'll probably have to worry mostly about the guards as few players idle in Thunder Bluff.

Alliance Cities

Hammershout (Stormwind City) [36,66]: Hammshout is located in the front of Stormwind. The Park was destroyed (and is hard to get into without a flying mount) so he's decided to go outside of the main gates making him very easy to get to. For those who need to walk or fly here just fly to the front main gates where other seasonal events happen and talk to him, then fly away to freedom.

Bronzebeard (Ironforge) [29,16]: Bronzebeard used to require a lot of death, pain, and suffering, however now you can simply fly to him. Fly in to the front gate and try to ditch most of the guards. Make your way into the Mystic Ward where you'll be able to find him easily. Then attempt to fly out, assuming the Alliance did not gank you.

Bladeswift (Darnassus) [33,14]: This was painful if you were not level 80 and even then, getting to Darnassus was difficult. Go to Darkshore and take the boat to Darnassus (it's the northern pier) or simply fly to it. Once the boat lands, move through the village into the glowing portal. You'll instantly be ganked by a ton of guards as you enter the city, but if you're on a flying mount just take off. If you die OUTSIDE of the city then you'll have to ride the boat as a ghost. If you get through the portal you'll probably die quickly, so plan to run back. You'll need to go to the northern section into the Cenarion Enclave to find this Elder. When finished, leave out the "main entrance" to get another Elder named Bladeleaf in Teldrassil before you leave. If you have to walk, you'll die a bunch, so it's best to fly through this one.

Azeroth

You'll probably want to get the exploration achievement while you're doing this, because you'll be visiting most zones in the game. You can now fly, so the trip won't be nearly as long. This does not include the dungeon elders, so be sure to stop by any dungeons you may miss and visit the elders there (the dungeons are below the ones in azeroth).

Eastern Kingdoms (17 Elders)

Start off by going to Booty Bay, where our first Elder is located.

Winterhoof (Stranglethorn Vale, Booty Bay) [40,72]: This Elder is located on the top level of the Inn. There shouldn't be anything to worry about, unless you're aggressive to the guards in Booty Bay. In which case you're going to wan to run in through the entrance on your mounth and launch into the water. Quaff a Water Walking potion and try to gain as much distance as you can and ditch the guards chasing you - unless of course you feel comfortable going to the whole distance with the entire city on you. Get into the inn, run up through the various levels, then speak to the elder. The flight masters nearby can fly you out of there assuming you're not in combat.

Starglade (Stranglethorn Vale, Zul'Gurub) [71,34]: Go to ZG's entrance and speak with this Elder. There is no traffic here so there should be no problems on a PvP server.

Bellowrage (Blasted Lands, near the Dark Portal) [54,49]: The Dark Portal in the Blasted Lands should be your next stop, youc an get there through the Swamp of Sorrows. You can go to Westfall first, if you want, but Nethergarde Keep can fly the Alliance back over to Westfall while the Horde would have to go back through Duskwood anyway to get to Elwynn Forest.

Skychaser (Westfall, Sentinel Hill) [56,47]: This one is located on top of the tower on Sentinel Hill and presents a very difficult challenge to lower leveled Horde because there are usually a good group of level 80s roaming about Westfall helping their alts/guildies/etc. The guards are low level, so other than the player traffic this is an easy one. You can get to Westfall through Elwynn Forest or Duskwood.

Stormbrow (Elwynn Forest, Goldshire's Pond) [46,63]: Goldshire has a moderate amount of traffic from level 80s and is heavily trafficed on roleplay servers, so plan ahead on PvP servers if you're Horde. Anyway, visit the pond and then make for the Burning Steppes for the next one.

Rumblerock (Burning Steppes, Dreadmaul Rock) [82,46]: In the southern part of the Burning Steppes

Dawnstrider (Burning Steppes, Flame Crest) [64,24]: Flame Crest has a flight point for the Horde, so you could fly to the Searing Gorge next or just go through Blackrock mountain.

Ironband (Searing Gorge, Blackchar Cave) [21,78]: Just go to the loc and then make your way through the Badlands into Loch Modan.

Silvervein (Loch Modan, Thelsemar) [33,46]: Like Westfall, you can sometimes run into level 80 Alliance if you're Horde, but this shouldn't be a problem.

Goldwell (Dun Morogh, Kharanos) [46,52]: Easy, from here you'll want to snag the Ironforge elder. If you're Horde you'll probably want to hearth, go to the Undercity, and fly to the Hinterlands. Alliance will want to visit Ironforge and fly to the Hinterlands.

Highpeak (Hinterlands, Creeping Ruin) [49,48]: Northern part of the Hinterlands, you can take a shortcut through the Hinterlands into Western Plaguelands.

Meadowrun (WPL, Weeping Cave) [66,47]: She's north of the road to EPL, our next destination.

Windrun (EPL, Darrowshire) [35,68]: At the tower near Darrowshire.

Snowcrown (EPL, Light Hope Chapel) [75,54]: At Light's Hope, just fly back to WPL and go to Tirisfal Glades for the next one.

Graveborn (Tirisfal Glades, Brill) [61,53]: The Alliance will want to stop by Brill and then do the Undercity Elder (see above) while the Horde will want to make their way to Silverpine Forest. There isn't much need to hearth out of the Undercity since the Elder is in the throne room, so the Alliance can finish up in Silverpine and hearth then.

Obsidian (Silverpine Forest, The Speulcher) [45,41]: Easy, with that you should have all of the Elders in the Eastern Kingdom.

Kalimdor (21 Elders)

A set path in Kalimdor is quite hard, because of how open Kalimdor is. I'm going to start at the southern tip and move east, north, west, north, east, and repeat until finished. Be sure to pick up any dungeons you need on the way through, as those are not listed in this guide.

Bladesing (Silithus, Cenarion Hold) [50,36]: In the moonwell inside of Silithus. From here just walk east along the road to get into Un'Goro Crater.

Thunderhorn (Un'Goro Crater, Slithering Scar) [51,76]: Located in the middle of Un'Goro near the Slithering Scar. Head east into Tanaris.

Ragetotem (Tanaris, Valley of the Watchers) [36,80]: Near Uldum, on the western side at the bottom of Tanaris. Head north towards Gadgetzan from here.

Dreamseer (Tanaris, Gadgetzan) [50,28]: Inside of the city. Don't fly anywhere, just go north out of the town into Thousand Needles and the Mirage Raceway for the next one.

Morningdew (Thousand Needles, Mirage Raceway) [78,77]: She's at the starting line, on the ground, in a purple dress. Head west from here.

Skyseer (Thousand Needles, Freewind Post) [45,50]: This one is kind of hard for the Alliance, because there are usually high level players sitting inside of Freewind and the guards will all aggro you. Skyseer is in the middle of the town, so you'll need to take the elevator up and immediatly talk to the elder. DO NOT JUMP unless you have slow fall. Wait on the elevator to go back down. You should be able to get this easily when no one is around since the guards aren't very tough. When you're done, move west through Feralas.

Grimtotem (Feralas, Camp Mojache) [76,37]: For Alliance this zone can be difficult, because again there are usually a good few Horde in Feralas getting profession recipes, helping alts, or farming low level herbs. Your goal will be to get into the town, talk the elder, and then get out. You can jump into the water below or just keep moving north to Dire Maul where our next stop is.

Mistwalker (Feralas, Dire Maul) [43,67]: The PVP arena has Mistwalker in it and there is an Elder in Dire Maul which you'll probably want to do while you're here. Once you're done, return back to Thousand Needles and head for the Barrens. Horde can fly straight to the Camp Taurajo, while Alliance will have to walk the entire length.

High Mountain (The Barrens, Camp Taurajo) [45,58]: Near the forge, from here you're going to want to head into Mulgore to pick up the next elder and then back to the Barrens for the crossroads and Ratchet.

Bloodhoof (Mulgore, Bloodhoof Village) [48,53]: Easy, near the bridge. Head back into the Barrens.

Moonwarden (The Barrens, Crossroads) [51,28]: This can be as easy as walking into the town and as hard as having to deal with 20 level 80s camping your corpse. Again, this is why going during the times when your server is slow is the best idea for Alliance and Horde.

Windtotem (The Barrens, Ratchet) [62,37]: Inside of Ratchet. Your next stop will be Durotar, so just walk up that way now.

Runetotem (Durotar, Razor Hill) [54,44]: Although it's in Durotar, the Alliance shouldn't have an issue, just go to Razor Hill. If you're Alliance, be sure to stop by Orgrimmar. You can also go through the river up to Aszshara for the next one.

Skygleam (Azshara, Ravencrest Monument) [72,85]: Southeast corner of Azshara.From here, fly up to Ashenvale. The Horde have a camp in the northern section while the Alliance have a camp at the road incoming into Azshara.

Riversong (Ashenvale, Astranaar) [35,48]: The Horde shouldn't have a problem since Ashenvale is often quiet. From here move up north through Felwood.

Nightwind (Felwood, Jaedenar) [37,52]: Easy, from here go north through the tunnel into Winterspring.

Brightspear (Winterspring, Lake Kel'Theril) [55,43]: Easy, one more in Winterspring...

About The Author

Get in the bush with David "Xerin" Piner as he leverages his spectacular insanity to ask the serious questions such as is Master Yi and Illidan the same person? What's for dinner? What are ways to elevate your gaming experience? David's column, Respawn, is updated near daily with some of the coolest things you'll read online, while David tackles ways to improve the game experience across the board with various hype guides to cool games.